Lipoprotein oxidation in cardiovascular disease: chief culprit or innocent bystander?

Oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is thought to contribute to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Consistent with this idea, the antioxidant drug probucol reduces the risk of restenosis, a form of cardiovascular disease, in humans. However, a new study now suggests that the protective effect of probucol depends not on its ability to inhibit lipid oxidation, but on its ability to induce the stress-induced antiinflammatory enzyme heme oxygenase (HO)-1. This might explain why other antioxidants, such as vitamin E, fail to prevent cardiovascular disease in humans.